Paparazzi isn't specifically about intent or law breaking. It is about hounding celebrities to get pictures/stories - generally pointless gossip crap.
An Intrepid Reporter, on the other hand, is looking for actual legitimate news stories.
In other words it is "Scum invading peoples privacy" vs "Actual reporter who actively digs for stories".
Paparazzi are not really interested in investigating anything, they are just looking for content, and thus are usually depicted as a crowd of photographers and cameramen hovering around any noteworthy (while not really newsworthy) material. An Intrepid Reporter is about the investigation and the value of the story, and so will be depicted as doing things like knocking on doors, reading other news stories, looking at other pictures and debating with their boss in addition to hovering around newsworthy material.
Lost in Space
Paparazzi generally aren't breaking laws; in fact, they are very good at citing the precise letter of the law that allows them to get away with hounding people incessantly and invading their privacy. Some may break laws, of course, but the main point is that they want juicy photos that they can sell to anyone who will take them. They aren't interested in the stories; they're interested in selling the pictures that other people use to make up stories.
An Intrepid Reporter is after the story, full stop. They don't always have to be after truth, and they don't necessarily break laws in the course of investigating (although this may happen). The point is that they want the big scoop, the big headline. You may hear them going on about how this is the big break that'll earn them their Pulitzer.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
I guess I'm just getting hung up on the 'intrepid' part. The Intrepid Reporter entry refers to Paparazzi as their Jerkass or Evil Counterpart, which implies the intrepid reporter is noble and heroic by comparison. But then it also states intrepid reporters are free to "violate their journalistic ethics and reveal... Off the Record information," "expose secrets the protagonists would rather not have public," and aren't above "fudging the facts to make a juicier story." None of that sounds particularly admirable, and in fact reads very similarly to some of the text in the paparazzi entry (i.e. "looking for a story to sell at some point, no matter how it affects the lives of the story's subjects, or what laws [they] break in the process of getting the story").
I'm referring specifically to the IntrepidReporter who breaks laws in order to get the story. Is it just a matter of intent (i.e. they mean well so they're not considered a Paparazzi)? I just find it a little confusing seeing law-abiding and law-breaking examples lumped together like that.
To be clear, I'm not talking about reporters investigating corrupt governments, seeing as that raises questions about the legality of the laws in the first place.